Metal-rolling machine



(No Model.)v 2 Sheets-Sheet; I.

- D. E. KEMPSTER.

METAL ROLLING MACHINE.

Patented Apr. 10, 1888.

I .vvlwil! Ow .V NIMH/J H (No Model.) I 2 Sheets-Sheet l2. D. E. KEMPSTER.

METAL ROLLING MACHINE,

No. 380,759. Patented Apr; 10, 1888.

wjLIlEEEES.

MMM@

N. PETERS, Phulu-Lilhugmpmr. wzmingwnY BAC,

. UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DANIEL E. KEMPSTER, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

METAL-ROLLING MACHlNE.

SPECIFICATION for-ming part of Letters Patent No. 380,759, dated April 10, 1.888.

Application filed February 2), 1888. Serial No. 265,740. (No model.)

T0 @ZZ 1071.071@ it may concern:

Be it known that I, DANIEL E. KEMPSTER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Manufacture of Articles in Metal; and I do declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, andto the letters and iguresof reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in the manufacture of articles in metal having circular cross-sectional area, and the object and purpose of my improvements are to provide mechanism whereby said articles may be more speedily and more economically produced than heretofore, and also to impart, by

a peculiar action of the said mechanism, superior qualities to the article manufactured thereby.

My invention consists in the construction and combination ofthe various devices herein described, which thereby constitute an improved and thoroughly equipped and organized metal-rolling mill or system whereby articles may be rolled and formed into shape direct from a coil of wire rod, or from metal bars or blanks fed therein, and all the devices and appliances constituting said system as a whole acting and operating continuously and automatically to expeditiously accomplish the desired end, as will now be fully described, and specially pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, and in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts, Figure l is a central vertical section of my improved continuous metal-rolling mill; Fig. 2, a cross-section on the line A B in Fig. l; Fig. 3, a cross-section on the line C D in Fig. 1; Fig. 4, a side elevation of one of my improved die-rolls; Fig. 5, an end view of the same; and Fig. 6 is an elevation of one of my improved spheres or balls as rolled and formed in my improved rolling-mill.

My invention is susceptible of being constructed and arranged in a variety of ways, and may be modified to suit the class of work to be rolled or formed thereby, always retaining, however, my combinations of devices, as herein set forth, as being the essential elements for constituting an organized automatic system or continuous metal-rolling mill.

For a certain kind of work I dnd it convenient to construct and arrange the mill in the form shown in the accompanying drawings, in which ci ci a3 represent a suitable frame for supporting the various devices, and having a base-plate provided with holes forsecuring it to the door in the usual manner with power machinery. The frame is provided with bearings l 2 3 4 for supporting the` journals of the die-rolls b b. Said bearings are constructed with caps in the ordinary manner, so as to be able to readily remove said dies therefrom. The bearings 1 and 2 are formed in extending and integral portions of the frame a; but the bearings 3 :and 4 are formed in the portion a', made separate therefrom and supported by and between suitable ears on the main frame, two of said ears being slotted to receive tighteningscrews 5 and 6, which screw into oppositely-arranged ears, .whereby the part a may be clamped solid between the said frame-ears and thus beheld firm and rigid with said frame.

The piece a is backed up by the wedgepiece a,which is suitably tongued by T-headed screws, as shown, to slide in correspondingly-formed grooves in said part c and the tapering portion of the main frame u, thereby connecting said parts together, so that when the wedge a is raised or lowered by the screw 7, which passes through the top plate, a3, and screws into said wedge, the piece c is caused to move bodily out vor in between its supporting-frame ears, and may be held rigid at any point in the limit of its movement by tightening up the clamp-screws 5 and 6, before referred to.

The die-rolls b b are connected, so as to revolve together at the same speed and in the same direction, by suitable gearing, two of which, c c, are fast on the die-roll shafts c c, and the intermediate gear, d, runs loosely on the T-headed stud e, which is adapted to slide laterally in the top of the stand f, fast on the base a, said stud e being heldin such position therein by the connecting-links e e as to in- IOO sure the proper meshing and working of said gearing, regardless of the positions of the dierolls or the distance between them.

The dieroll journaled in the solid side of the frame is provided with the shaft c', and it extends downward and restsin a step or bearing, c3, on the base a. Said shaft has fast thereon the bevel-gear g, which meshes with a corresponding gear, h, on thehorizontal shaft i. Said shaft is supported in boxes z" i, and is provided on its outer end with a fast and "loose pulley, as is usually employed on machinery.

The shaft z' has securely fastened thereon the double-throw cam j. Afeed-lever, k, pivoted on the side of the frame, has a stud and roll, which runs in the groove of said cam and is vibrated thereby. The upper end of said le-` ver has a pivoted pawl, k', and springk. Said spring has a projection on its end, which engages the pin k3 on the pawl, and by throwing said pawl up or down, so that said projection engages said pin on opposite sides, the said pawl may be held out of or into engagement with its feed-ratchet.

As shown plainlyinFig.3, thefeeding mechanism consists in two corrugated feed-rolls, m m, keyed fast on the ends of two shafts, m m. Said shafts are supported at their ends nearest said feed-rolls by thehalf-boxesS 8, adjustably held between the ears 9 9 on the dieroll bearing-caps. Said boxes may be adjusted, so as move the shafts and cause said feed-rolls to grip the metal rod 10 more closely, by setting up the screws 1l 11, which are provided with suitable check-nuts thereon for holding said screws in position when once properly adjusted and set. When necessary to separate said feed-rolls, the said screws are slackened, so as to allow said boxes to be separated by the pressure of the spring Z, which is fast on the feedstand n and bears against the inner sides of the feed-roll shafts.

The stand n is attached to the bottom ofthe top plate, a3, and supports the outer end of the shaft m in the box 0,'and also the outer end of shaft m in the halfbox o'. Said shafts have fastv thereon, just outside of said boxes, the interrneshing feed-gears p p. Said gears have solid collars on their sides, as shown, which are adapted to run together with a certain amount ot' frictional contact produced by pressure exerted by the screws g q in the feed-stand n. The shaft m has also fast thereon,outside of its feed-gearp,a notched disk, r, and feed-ratchet s. The disk r is provided with the detent r', pivoted on an arm on the stand n, and is adapted to be pressed into which is severed therefrom by the cutters b b b b', fastened on the ends of the die-rolls b b. The ratchet s has just a sufficient number of teeth thereon to insure its feeding into the cutters and dies -the proper amount of metal to be rolled down and condensed into shape, and in passing through said dies becomes a perfectlyformed article.

A stand, at, is attached to the top of the top plate, a3, and the furnace t is attached thereto. Said furnace is lined with asbestus or firebrick, usually employed for this purpose, and is provided with a door, t', through which to inspect the interior. Said furnace is contracted or shaped so as to concentrate the heat closely around the metal rod near the feedrolls, and is also constructed with a top plate or cover, t, held to the outer shell or casing by suitable screws, so as to be readily removed for the purpose of rclining said furnace, or otherwise.

The furnace is provided with a powerful blow-pipe, composed of the gasvpipe t3, which enters and is surrounded by the air-blast pipe. t, said air-blast being controlled by the valve t5, and the gas being controlled by the valve t". Said blow-pipe enters the furnace through its cover or top plate,and delivers its tlame or blast nearly parallel with the metal rod being heated, and drives the heat forward toward the feed-rolls where desired to be the hottest.

As shown in Fig. 1, the top plate, a3, is formed with a hole through its center to permit the noseepiece of the furnace to enter close up to the feed-rolls; and also it will be observed that the base-plate or bed of the mill is provided with a hole through the same directly under the working-center between the die-rolls. This is for the purpose of allowing the articles being rolled or formed to drop direct from the dies into a receptacle or cooler, 12, under the mill, containing a liquid preparation for throwing off the scale formed thereon by the usual oxidation; and, if desired, said liquid may also harden and temper said articles by adding suitable ingredients to said cooling preparation. l l

Extending upward from the top of thestand a4 are two forked arms, a5, on which is suspended the reel u, having the coil of metal rod 10 thereon. Said reel is free to revolve on bearings in said forked arms, and as the said rod passes 0H from said reel it is guided by the guide-piece at on the stand at, and, passing through the furnace t, enters between the corrugated feed-rolls m m. The outer end ofthe feed-roll shaft m is squared to receive a crank for the purpose of revolving said feed-rolls by hand, and thus embrace and feed in the end of the metal rod when first starting the mill.

By referring to Figs. 1 and 4 it will be seen that the die-rolls b b are straight cylinders arranged side by side, and are each provided with two tapering working-grooves, b b, arranged therein obliquely to the line or plane of their movement, or running spirally around said die-rolls in the same direction.`

IOO

IIO

IZO

Said grooves are arranged on said rolls diametrically opposite each other in a similar manner to a double-threaded screw, and said rolls are geared together in a manner to cause said grooves on opposite die-rolls to register with each other as said rolls are revolved in the same direction. It should also be observed that as said rolls are revolved in the same direction their adjacent and opposed faces are moving in opposite directions, and therefore, owing to the spiral form of the workinggrooves, the registering-point of said grooves is constantly changing from one end of the dierolls to the other, and a metal blank severed from the rod by the registering-cutters on opposite die-rolls and entering the flaring ends of the registering die-grooves would be bodily confined therein, and as it was being rolled and condensed into shape would be conveyedv along within said grooves between the two die-rolls in a straight line parallel with the axes thereof until it was forced out of the ends of said grooves at the opposite ends of said die-rolls.

The Working-grooves b of the die-rolls are properly tapered and scored or milled throughout a portion of their length, so as to allow the metal blank to enter freely between them, and then revolve, roll, and condense said blank into the form of a sphere or ball, the die-roll grooves in this case being formed in cross-sectional area of a shape to produce said article, although any other form of article may be made by so shaping the die-grooves. It should be noticed that by my having the double cutters and grooves on the die-rolls, and the feedcam also double-throw, I am able to roll and form two spheres or other articles at every complete revolution of the said die-rolls, and I may still increase that number, if so desired, by adding more cutters and grooves to the dies and corresponding movements to the feeding mechanism. Also by my giving a quick pitch to the spiral die-grooves I obtain a spirally-rolling movement of the spheres being formed thereby, which more evenly condenses the metal and produces a sphere in which the grain or bers of the same are running through it spirally in every direction, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 6, thus producing a superior and improved article of manufacture, as must be apparent, and another and separate application will be filed by me in the Patent-Off1ce therefor hereafter.

In rolling and forming spheres as heretofore practiced-that is to say, with dies having y their working-grooves formed in line with the line or plane of their movement-said spheres are rotated abouttheir own centers,said centers beingjoined to the metal rod, each side of the blank being rolled and formed, and is only separated therefrom at the very last part of the operation, and consequently the portion of metal which was on the end of the rod and outside of said blank is always wasted; and, furthermore, itis exceedingly difficult and not practicable to adj ust the opposing faces of the dies near enough together to form a perfect sphere, as the die-surfaces are moving in opposite directions, and therefore cannot bear against each other -with great pressure, as in ordinary rolling where the contacting surfaces of the dies are moving together in the same direction, and cannot prevent leaving a small projectionor point upon opposite sides of the sphere, where the die-rolls cannot be forced together close enough to prevent it, without creating too great afriction and spheres rolled and formed in this manner have the met-al centers or axes of rotation of said spheres while being rolled and formed. Such spheres, when used in the bearings of bicycles and other wheeled vehicles, break apart in the form of laminations, and often, like the shell of a nut, leaving a kernelor small sphere among the broken pieces.

My improved mill and method of manufacture effectually overcome all ofthe above objections and defects, as, first, I waste no metal, only enough being severed from the rod each time to form a complete article; second, I am able to run the mill with the die rolls separated, so'as to avoid any friction between their adjacent and oppositely-moving faces and yet 'produce perfectly-formed spheres thereby by reason ofthe spirally-rolling movement given said spheres in their passage through said dies; third, a stronger, more homogeneous, and more perfect sphere is produced than heretofore, and, fourth, I am able to greatly cheapen the cost of manufacture, as my mill is continuous and automatic in its operations and is capable of being run up to any speed within the limits of the capacity to heat the metal rod, and for certain kinds ofwork which can be formed of cold metal the speed may be further increased.

The operation of my invention is as follows: A coil of metal rod is placed upon the reel and suspended in the forked bearings. overhead. The furnace is lighted up and the gas and air properly adjusted, so as to give the greatest amount of heat, After the furnacehas become thoroughly hot, the endof the metal rod is passed down through it and in its passage becomes white hot. against the feed-rolls, they are revolved by hand with a suitable crank applied on one of the feed-roll shafts until the end of the rod enters and is fed up against the bottom of the registering die-grooves, the mill having been revolved by hand previously to bring said TOO IIO

IIS

As the end of said rod comes Y grooves in proper position. The crank is then removed from the feeding mechanism and the driving-belt shipped onto the fast pulley, revolving it in the direction of the arrow shown thereon, and through the bevel and other gearing the die-rolls are caused to revolve together in the direction of the arrow shown in Figs. 4 and 5. As the registering cutters come together, a blank is severed from the rod just as the die-grooves grasp it and starter commence to roll and revolve it between their oppositely moving and contracting forming surfaces. The feeding mechanism in its proper time keeps driving the end of the metal rod into the successively-registering die-grooves, and the adjacent cutters as often sever al blank therefrom, two to every complete revolution of the die-rolls, and at the proper working speed a cont-inuous stream or series of metal blanks are entering one end of the said dierolls and are passing out the opposite end conipletely rolled and formed,'and are immediately cooled by a suitable air-.blast or the cooling liquid, as before stated.

I have shown herein the mill arranged in a vertical position; but I may arrange it horizontally, and I so prefer it for some kinds of work, as the scale from the heated rod is not so liable to fall into the dies and be rolled into the article being formed; also, I do not desire to limit my invention to the exact construction herein specified, as it may all be varied without departing from the essential spirit thereof, and, therefore, I may vary the number of cutters and die-grooves, or vary the form of dies employed, or vary the shape and taper of their working or forming surfaces to suit the particular shapein cross-section of the article to be produced by rolling; also, the cutters may be a single pair or ordinary wire-cutters attached to a stationary part of the mill between the feed-rolls and dies, and be operated by suitable mechanism, if so preferred, and, also, the blanks may first be all cut into proper length and be heated in a suitable furnace and automatically fed therefrom into the dies by suitable automatic feeding mechanism; and for the manufacture of a heavy class of spheres and other articles I prefer to thus modify the arrangement of the mill, such modification requiring no illustrating in the drawings herein submitted, as any skilled mechanic would readily understand how to accomplish it or change the relative positions of the various devices composing the mill to best accommodate the class of work to be rolled therein; and I would state in this connection that for certain kinds of heavy work I sometimes use in my improved mill dies as usually formed-that is, having their working faces or grooves formed in a line with the line or plane of their movement. This necessarily makes the operation of rollin g'co nsiderabl y slo\ver,as the article when formed must drop, by its own gravity, out of the dies before another blank can be fed into them, whereas with my improved dies said blanks are thereby automatically conveyed out of the way of each other, which therefore admits of running the mill at any desired speed. However, as before stated, for certain kinds ofwork I may use dies constructed in the old and well-known manner, and in connection with my improved mill their utility and capacity are greatly increased.

I have not herein minutely described the action of cross-rolling metal into various forms circular in cross-section by oppositely-moving die-surfaces, as it is an old and well-known method of rolling metal; neither have I dcscribed the various forms of dies to which my improved die-grooves may be applied, nor the various articles which may, be rolled and formed thereby, as these matters have been fully gone into in another application filed by me in the Patent Office.

As shown in the drawings, the die-rolls may be adjusted t-o vary the size of the article being formed, and by varying the number of teeth in the feed-ratchet more or less metal stock 'may be put into the blank. By arranging the die-rolls in a vertical position, I am able to run the metal through the dies without any intermediate guides between them, said guides being objectionable on account of theircreasing or marking the hot plastic'metal in its passage through said dies. The vertical position of the dies also admits of dropping the finished article down plumb into the cooling-liquid without the use of any conductor or spout to guide it thereto, and therefore the liability is avoided of the hot finished article striking any obstruction which would be liable to mar or injure the perfect configuration or surface of the same before its entering and becoming cooled by the liquid provided therefor.

For heavy kinds of work it is necessary to make use of metal bars or rods instead of using from a coil of wire; but in either case it should be understood that the main bar or rod does not revolve, but is simply fed along longitudi- IOO IIO

nally into the mill, and metal blanks are successively severed therefrom and then revolved and rolled by the dies, whereby said blanks are condensed and formed into the shape of the finished article in their passage through or between said dies.

It will be observed that the cutters b are removably attached on the die-rolls by suitable screws to admit of repairing or adjusting them after prolonged and continued use.

Having now described the nature of my invention, I de sire to secure by Letters Patent and claim- 1. In an organized continuons metal-rolling mill, the combination of two dies having their adjacent working-faces adapted to move in opposite directions with cutters for automatically severing the metal blank from the rod prior to rolling and forming said blank, for the purpose set forth.

2. In an organized continuons metal-rolling adjacent working-faces adapted to move in opposite directions and cutters for automatically severing the metal blank from the rod with feed-rolls for automatically feeding said rod into the mill, for the purpose set forth.

3. In an organized continuous metal-rolling mill, the combination of two dies having their adjacent working-faces adapted to move in opposite directions, cutters for automatically severing the metal blank from the rod, and feedrolls for automatically feeding said rod into said dies and cutters with a furnace for heating said rod, for the purpose set forth.

4. In an organized continuous metal-rolling mill, the combination of two dies having their adjacent working-faces adapted to move in opposite directions, cutters for automatically severing the metal blank from the rod, feedrolls for automatically feeding said rod into said dies and cutters, and a furnace for heating said rod with a reel or support for holding said rod, for the purpose set forth.

5. In an organized continuous metal-rolling mill, in combination, two dies having their adjacent working-faces adapted to move in opposite directions, automatic cutters, automatic feeding mechanism, and a reel or support for holding the metal rod or bar, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. Two die rolls provided with workinggrooves formed Vobliquely to the line or plane of their movement and two parallel shafts carrying the said die-rolls, combined with each other and with gearing to rotate the said dierolls in the same direction, to operate substantially as described.

7. Two die rolls provided with workinggrooves formed obliquely tc the line or plane of their movement and two shafts carrying the said die-rolls, combined with each other and .with gearing to rotate said die-rolls in the same direction, and with mechanism for adjusting the distance between lsaid die-rolls, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

8. Two die-rolls provided with workinggrooves formed obliquely to the line or plane of their movement and two shafts carrying the Vsaid die-rolls, combined with each other and with gearing to rotate said die-rolls in the same direction, and with feed-rolls for supporting and feeding` the metal blank into said die-rolls, for the purpose described.

9. Two rotating die-rolls mounted in bearings and provided with working-grooves formed obliquely to the line or plane of their movement and scored or milled to aid in rotating the blank being acted'upon within said grooves, combined with each other and with gearing to drive the said die-rolls in the same direction at the same surface speed, the registering-point of the said working-grooves between the said die-rolls constantly changing from one end of said die-rolls tothe other, and thereby in rolling, condensing, and forming the metal blank said blank is bodily conveyed along within said die-grooves in a straight line parallel with a central line between said die-rolls, for the purpose described and set forth.

10. In combination, the supporting-frame and the rolls supported thereby and having oblique working-grooves tapering from their finishing to their starting ends, substantially as described.

11. A die-roll having a working-groove formed obliquely to the line or plane of its movement and having a cutter on its starting or blank-entering end, substantially as and for the purpose described.

- l2. The die-rolls b, having cutters Z1' b and grooves b b, substantially as shown and described.

13. In combination, the frame u a a3, the wedge a, and adj Listing-screw V7, substantially as described. n

14. The shaft z', cam j, lever k, and pawl 7c', in combination with the feed-ratchet s, adjustable shafts m m, feed-rolls m m, and connecting mechanism, substantially as described, for supporting and operating said devices, for the purpose set forth.

V15. In combination, the feed-shafts m m, the feed-rolls m m and friction-gears 19 p thereon, the notched disk r, spring-detent r', stand a, and connecting mechanism, substantially as described, to operate in the manner set forth.

16.' The frame composed of the stationary parts a ai and movable part a', in combination with mechanism for adjusting the position of said movable part and means, substantially as described, for rigidly securing it to the stationary part, as set forth.

17. In combination, the frame or bed, the

shaft f, suitably supported thereon, the bevelgears 7L g, the shafts c c", the gears c o thereon, connected with links e e', the intermediate gear, d, suitably supported on the frame or bed a, and the die-rolls b b, supported in the bearings 1 2 3 4 so as to revolve therein and be adjustable to or from each other, to operate substantially as described.

18. The die-rolls arranged in a vertical position, substantially as described, combined with feeding mechanism arranged so as to feed the blank metal vertically into said die-rolls, for the purpose substantially as set forth.

19. The frame and its top plate, combined with the stand at and rod-supporting reel u, substantially as described.

20. The stand at, having forked arms or reelbearings a5 and rod-guide a, combined with the furnace t and means, substantially as described, for 'heating said furnace, for the purpose set forth.

2l. The furnace constructed with one end contracted so as to concentrate the heat, as described, and the other end provided with a removable cover, for the purpose set forth, in combination with the blow-pipe or means for heating said furnace, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

22. The frame u a and wedge a,constructed and combined as described, whereby a longitudinal movement of said wedge in either di- IIO G SOHSQ rection gives a. corresponding lateral movesubstantially as described, for the purpose set ment to the frame a', substantially as and for forth. the purpose described.

23. The frame a a and screws 5 6, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

24. The shaft suitable bearings, ir, therei for, the feed-cam j on said shaft and provided with a double-throw groove, as described, the i lever k, pivoted on the side of the mill and provided with a stud and roll for running in said cam-groove, as set forth, and the pawl 7s and its spring k, all combined to operate tinuous metal-rolling mill with means, substantially as described, for scaling and cooling the hot nished articles, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

' DANIEL E. KEMPSTER.

Witnesses:

HENRY CHADBOURN, OsBoRNE B. PERRY.

25. The combination of an automatic con- [5l 

